Food & Beverage and Hospitality Translation Tips

August 22, 2011

In this blog I will focus on perhaps the most common
localization service in the hospitality and food and beverage
(F&B) industries: menu translation. Many potential clients
expect that menus would be one of the easiest translation services
to accomplish. In reality, menu translation can be one of the most
problematic or complex translation projects within the
industry.

A language
translation services company with experience in F&B and
hospitality can be of great assistance in this type of project.
But, there are no "fool proof" best practices that will guarantee
optimal language translation of food and beverage menus. Many
factors come into play, including how many languages are spoken in
a particular target locale, and is that locale addressing the needs
of visitors from another part of the world. Research on the needs
of patrons from your key target markets is essential to providing
full service and the maximum sense of "welcome" possible.

Service Localization: an emerging trend

Before addressing the specifics of menu translation, let's take
a look at some dynamic trends affecting
translation of menus and other F&B and hospitality
collateral. For years, Quick Service Restaurants (or QSRs) have
modified their menus to cater to local palates and the demands of
their overseas franchisees.
McDonald's for example, has used lamb rather than beef in its
burgers in India because Hindu traditions forbid consuming beef.
Subway jumped on the bandwagon last year and created a new menu for
the Chinese market which included the Roasted Duck Sub
sandwich.

This trend is
expanding into the luxury travel segment and it is being taken to
the next level by offering the comforts of home to guests from
foreign locales. A recent report on meetings-conventions.com
revealed that Hilton Hotels & Resorts and Starwood Hotels &
Resorts Worldwide announced in early July that they are offering
customized hospitality programs for their Chinese guests. As a part
of this specialized service, they are offering
Chinese language marketing collateral, in-room tea kettles,
Chinese TV broadcasting, and dishes like congee on
their menus. They are also staffing native Chinese speakers at
their front desks.

Middle East travelers have also become a key growth market for
many international hoteliers. Thailand-based luxury hotel group,
Dusit International, responded to record numbers of guests from the
Middle East by redesigning their menus to offer more Halal
items. They have introduced Arabic TV channels, provided prayer
mats and have information readily available on nearby mosques for
their Muslim guests. Their long-term sales strategy is to increase
the use of Arabic language content across all marketing channels,
including websites.

I have coined the phrase "service localization" to describe this
trend of providing food and services appropriate to the origin of
key patrons or tourists. What exactly is "service localization"?
Just as GPI adapts a document or website to a particular language
or culture through translation, restaurants and hotels are
localizing the products and services that are native to their key
growth markets. Leading hospitality groups are not only translating
their F&B menus, they are customizing dishes and other
services--catering to the tastes and comfort of these
travelers.

Menu translation as a first step to localized service

Hotel restaurants are more eclectic than ever, offering
exotic dishes and ingredients. A perfect example, and one of my
favorites, is Pad
Thai, a traditional Thai noodle dish. How does a restaurant or
F&B franchise in the Middle East handle this
native Thai dish in a Russian or Arabic
menu translation? The name alone can be tricky, but so can
the ingredients, if they are not common to the restaurant's locale.
An experienced translation services
agency, like GPI, should be able to coach you on how to best
present your menus to your global clientele.

Here are some general tips:

Transliteration versus Translation: Many dishes
are well known in the target markets by their common names. In such
cases, translation is not required, and it could actually cause
more confusion. For menus going into Arabic, Chinese, Japanese or
Russian, transliteration of the name of the dish may be the best
option. Transliteration is the process of using the phonetic sounds
of the source word in the target language. Translation uses the
equivalent word and meaning in the target language. Transliteration
is often used for brand names and words that are non-native to the
language, like crème fraiche, beurre
blanc, or Worcestershire sauce. To get a good sense of some
of the issues surrounding copywriting for Chinese, review our
previous blog, "Top 7 Tips for
Effective Chinese copywriting."

Keep it simple and leave it alone! Sometimes the
best approach is to leave the entrée in its native language and
provide an appealing description of the ingredients or preparation
method in the target language. I recently managed a menu
translation project that included a "Sauce Jacqueline". The
restaurant decided to use the French sauce name, but included a
translated description of the sauce's ingredients. A reduction with
carrots and ginger--it sounded fantastic!

Actual names of ingredients may be rare or
non-existent in the target locale. In such cases, official
terminology may be absent and terms may have to be "invented" to
describe what's actually on the menu. But be careful! Your goal is
to entice, not to confuse or disgust. I recently came across an
Arabic menu translation that used "brains" for "sweetbreads". If I
had the choice of brains, or something else, I personally would
choose the "something else".

For casual dining or QSRs within the hotel, numbered or
picture menus may be helpful in bridging the communication
gap between your guests and your servers. Alternatively, you may
want to have a bilingual menu with English and the target language.
GPI can advise you on a layout that best accommodates
bi-directional text, like Arabic and Hebrew, or double-byte
characters, like Chinese.

In certain markets you must not forget ingredient
labeling on the menus for allergies, religious purposes, or
restrictive diets.

Don't try to over simplify. Your menu is your
guests' first taste of what's to come. It's another marketing tool
to sell your restaurant. Your translation should be appealing and
inviting. A good translation services agency with an experienced
translator cum copywriter is invaluable to your menu
localization and your restaurant's success.

Further Resources on Translation Services for Hotels, F&B
and Hospitality

GPI has provided extensive language translation services to the
F&B and Hospitality industries worldwide. In addition, GPI has
developed a user-friendly translation portal that makes it
extremely easy for non-technical users in these industries to
submit projects for translations. You will find the links below to
some of our services and a blog on Chinese tourism highly
useful:

Comments

Heba Nady - Global Client Services ManagerHebatullah Mahmoud Nady (Heba) is a native Arabic speaker who lives in Cairo, Egypt. She has 11 years of experience in client relations and project management, working in different industries, such as publishing, oil and gas and foremost translation and localization. Heba holds a B.A. degree in English Language and Literature from Ain Shams University, and has a great passion for language and culture. She has been actively managing many localization and translation projects for major clients since 2008 and is well versed in a wide range of localization tools and practices. Heba enjoys working with teams from different cultures and bringing people together to achieve a common goal. For her translation is a mission that contributes to enriching Arabic and other cultures and languages. In her free time, Heba likes to read about literature and management, and go site-seeing.